Craft Fair Recap & Exploring New Ways of Creating ✩ Postcard 01
Hello Lovely.
Happy Equinox! I hope all is well with you.
Historically, this Equinox hasn’t been the happiest time for me. Today marks the anniversary of multiple losses—both significant points in my growth journey. I find it very interesting that loss is often the catalyst for change in my life. I mean, in general, it is, right? But it just seems more so for me. I find that I experience my best growth spurts after times of significant loss. It’s like after a while, I’m motivated to do something about my grief, all while experiencing another level of it, you know?
Anyway, I really hope you are well! I’ve been doing really well since the last time I shared an update. I did something recently that wasn’t on my bingo card this year, even though I think it should have been! I participated in an arts and crafts fair—Arts in the Park, in Highland Park, NJ. I was convinced by a woman I met at a different craft fair, and well, with the help of my boyfriend, we made it happen. I had a small table where I displayed my journals and had journals, stickers, ephemera packs, and tags for sale.
I absolutely loved my setup! It was definitely very on-brand for me, and the aesthetic of it helped to showcase my work. I didn’t make a ton of sales, but just enough to pay back what I spent on signing up for the spot, with a little extra. However, I did hand out a heap of business cards, and really, the entire point of it was to get more exposure to my work. And it was fun! I did get to meet a few lovely artists and some fellow journalers! And while I was exhausted by the end of it, it was a good day.
The whole thing got me thinking about how and why we do the things we do—or don’t do them—and how we just have to try. Like, there is some wisdom in the catchphrase Just do it. All we really need to do to accomplish anything is to just do it. Just start. You don’t need to know exactly what you’re doing, and it doesn’t have to be good. A first draft is the best draft because you actually got something done. And hey, it may come out better than you expected.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up to be a part of that craft fair. I had no idea how much product to make and have on hand. Gosh, I even forgot to take out cash from my bank so that I could make change! But I did it and it’s done. And I know some things to do differently if I were to participate in another fair.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my art and my creativity, and how I want to make more time for it. I think since moving away from freelance/contract work and beginning a 9-to-5, I’ve lost my flow. I’ve been trying very hard to find it again, but in a similar capacity to what I had before. And it’s just dawned on me now that maybe that too needs to be different. I think I need to intentionally set out more time for my creativity. I have to be more disciplined. And, I think I just need to try new things, even if I have no idea what I’m doing. Because there clearly isn’t any wrong way to be creative.
xxx Tiffany
Song for Autumn
Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now
how comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of the air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees, especially those with
mossy hollows, are beginning to look for
the birds that will come—six, a dozen—to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
stiffens and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its long blue shadows. The wind wags
its many tails. And in the evening
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.― Mary Oliver
✩ To Read: I Don’t Believe in Astrology by Debra Silverman (I really would like to read this soon). Then here are some seasonal favorites:
⋆⋆⋆ Howl’s Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
⋆⋆⋆ The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
⋆⋆⋆ Old Magic by Marianne Curley
✩ To Watch: ‘Tis the season for watching my favorite fun Halloweenie movies. This was the very last Top 10 list I made, and I definitely think it needs to be refreshed! All are still favorites, but I do believe I have some new ones, too.
✩ To Listen To: I’ve been listening to an assortment of things lately. But top of the list are:
⋆⋆⋆ MAYHEM by Lady Gaga
⋆⋆⋆ Play by Ed Sheeran
⋆⋆⋆ My Luna Shadows playlist
✩ To Discover: New ways of expressing my creativity. I’m at a familiar crossroads in my life where I feel stagnant and need a change. And I’m thinking maybe that change is to get back to creating and sharing more. I’ve recently ordered a heap of art books and books about journaling, and I’m excited for them to arrive. I have a new journal idea in my head that I also want to create. And I’m excited to see how this new newsletter format will work out! Change is good and trying new things is always exciting.
✩ Things to Explore This Season: apple picking, pausing, haunted hayrides, cosy sweaters, nature walks, a cup of tea, bookstores on Sundays, watching the leaves change colors, letting go, and new stationery.
Welcome to Libra season! But before we move forward, I want you to sit with yesterday’s New Moon Solar Eclipse in Virgo energy—it’s the collective energy of endings and letting go for us to begin again. Right now is the perfect time to start fresh in any aspect of your life, even if it means taking a different path than the one you previously thought you would.
What are some things you need to shed, release, and let go of that no longer serve you? What are some new things you want to invite in? How can you make space for those new things to come to you?
After a lot of curious customers at my craft fair table asked about the decoupage packs I was selling, I felt like I needed to create a little tutorial video on how you can quickly—and simply—use your decorative napkins or tissue paper to create beautiful journal spreads. I hope this inspires you to play in your journals. Enjoy.